


How About A Date First?

by tarialdarion



Series: Tumblr Prompts [14]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff and Humor, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-04
Updated: 2016-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-19 23:17:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,290
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7381507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tarialdarion/pseuds/tarialdarion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a rule, try not to propose to the love of your life while you're drunk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	How About A Date First?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [savedbythenotepad](https://archiveofourown.org/users/savedbythenotepad/gifts).



“Rise and shine, boys.” Natasha greeted the two lumps gracelessly flopped across the couch in the living room. Tony, one of the lumps, groaned and sat up, dislodging some of the cups surrounding him and sending them dropping to the floor with a clatter. He cried out in pain as the bright overhead light was flicked on mercilessly and threw up his hands.

“My eyes! Cruelty, thy name is woman!” Natasha just raised an unimpressed eyebrow in his direction and swept out, calling over her shoulder, “You should’ve paid more attention in your literature undergrad classes, Tony, if bastardizing Shakespeare is the best you can come up with.”

As Tony sat, blinking blearily and letting his eyes adjust to the completely and unnaturally bright light, the second lump on the couch started stirring and grumbling behind him. Tony turned his head, carefully, and saw Steve pulling himself upright with a black outline of a dick drawn on his forehead and his blonde hair sticking straight up on one side. Somehow in the mess of the previous night’s celebration (Tony’s defense of his doctoral dissertation had gone well), he had lost his shirt and Tony had lost his pants. He squinted at Tony for a long moment and then his eyes widened.

“Tony, why does your forehead say, ‘I’m the groom, bitches!’?” Tony gaped at Steve for a moment and then scrambled around to find his phone. A moment later, confirming that what Steve said was definitely true, he leveled an accusing finger at the smirking blonde. “First of all, this is NOT funny. Secondly, someone please tell me I did not somehow get married last night!”

“Don’t worry; there was no marriage.” Bruce said, appearing in the doorway with two steaming cups of his disgusting but consistently effective hangover cure. Tony sighed, relieved, and made grabby hands at a cup while muttering something about ‘glorious Brucie bears’ and ‘deliverance from headaches from hell’. “There might have been a proposal though.” Steve choked on his first sip of the pea-green lumpy mess in the cup Bruce had handed him and Tony absently pounded on his back while demanding answers from Bruce.

“Who did I propose to? Or did someone propose to me – no I definitely proposed; that’s something I would do. It must be someone in our group because no one else was here besides Darcy and Jane and we all know I would never go near them, even while wasted.” He paused, taking in the other’s nods of agreement. Clint dragged himself in, whining pitifully in Bruce’s direction. Bruce pointed at the kitchen wordlessly and Clint slowly pulled himself that way, looking for relief from the pounding in his head.

“It’s not Natasha, otherwise my forehead would be a lot less ecstatic.” Tony continued, ignoring Clint. “It’s not Clint because…well let’s face it: it’s just not Clint. (‘I’ll have you know, I’m a fine catch!’ came Clint’s indignant response from the kitchen) Bruce didn’t even drink last night so he wouldn’t have accepted my drunken proposal. If it was Thor, we all know I’d be waking up next to a very cuddly….” He trailed off, staring wide-eyed at Steve, who had stopped listening some time ago and opted instead to suffer through the rest of Bruce’s concoction.

Steve noticed that Tony was staring at him and peered at Tony’s face carefully. “Tony. Are you okay? You should drink the rest of Bruce’s…glop.”

“Bruce very kindly made that glop for you so that you don’t feel like death today.” Bruce said, narrowing his eyes at Steve who quickly backtracked. Tony interrupted whatever Steve was saying with a hysterical laugh that made them both wince.

“Yes, glop! Ha, funny. Okay, I’m going to…brush! My teeth now. Because, you know, it tastes like something died. In my mouth. Which nothing did!” He rambled, standing up unsteadily and tilting his way to the bathroom. Steve frowned at the hallway that Tony disappeared down and looked at Bruce. He opened his mouth to ask but he was quickly interrupted by Thor bursting into the room with Natasha close behind.

“Congratulations, Steve!” Thor said; his deep voice had a habit of reverberating in any room they were in, no matter how quietly he spoke.

“Congratulations…?” Steve questioned.

“On your engagement, of course!” There was a crash and a strangled sound from the hallway and Steve dropped his forehead into his hand, groaning. Of course Tony had proposed to him while they were drunk. And of course he had accepted. It was no secret that Steve loved Tony and had loved him since they started becoming best friends years ago. Tony had held him through his mother’s death, stayed up late night after night talking to him about every topic they had ever thought of while he was running away from nightmares, and had pulled him from his lonely nights in his room after his breakup with Peggy, demanding that he ‘stop moping and get flirting, Rogers!’. Yes, Steve loved Tony. He wasn’t the least bit surprised that drunk him had decided accepting a joke proposal from the object of his unrequited love was a fantastic idea.

Tony emerged from the hallway, flushed and rumpled. Steve couldn’t help the rush of heat that went through him at the sight of a completely disheveled Tony.

“What.” Tony said flatly.

“You proposed last night in the middle of your hurrah. To Steve.” Natasha was trying not to laugh; it was very obvious in the quirk of her lips but neither Steve nor Tony found anything funny about this.

Tony’s phone rang obnoxiously and both Steve and Tony winced again. Tony started talking as he looked around the room for the ringing device. “You know, just because you and Thor have the tolerance of gods doesn’t mean you have to scoff at us mere mortals. STEVE, where is my phone??” Steve reached out absently and grabbed the phone from where Tony had left it laying, half buried in the cushions, and handed it to Tony. Tony answered it triumphantly.

“Mom! I just talked to you yesterday, why are you - What?” He glanced nervously at Steve. “Why would you think – I did what? Where? Are you sure? Has Howard seen it?” Steve’s phone suddenly started ringing from where it lay underneath the couch and Steve leaned down, grabbed it and cautiously answered it.

“Hello?”

“Why the hell didn’t you tell me you were getting married to Stark?” Bucky wasn’t much on greetings.

“Bucky –“ Steve began and then frowned. “Hold on, why do you think I’m getting married to Tony?”

“It’s all over the internet, Steve. Apparently you two dimwits decided to celebrate your engagement and then post pictures. Tell Stark that this is unforgivable! I should have been informed –“

“Buck, I have to go.” Steve said, hurriedly, hanging up and opening his phone. There were hundreds of notifications, all from well-wishers and people commenting on photos that Tony had apparently posted last night and tagged him in. Mentally steeling himself, Steve opened the photo and found his face blushing at the camera and Tony kissing him on the cheek with his arms around Steve’s neck. It was not an embarrassing picture at all and if it weren’t for the fact that he knew they were very, very drunk, it would’ve looked like just any other couple announcing an engagement.

“Steve?” A voice broke through his haze and he looked up to see Tony shifting in front of him, a tentative look on his face. The room was empty except for the two of them. Steve was still sitting on the couch, elbows resting on his knees, and he felt the couch dip as Tony sat down next to him. He turned and caught Tony’s eye and they stood still for a moment before Tony blurted, “I’m so sorry, I was drunk and I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. Fuck, I bet Bucky is so mad at me; you’ll make sure he doesn’t kill me right? I thought we were finally having a break through and now he’ll be mad at me for years. My mom is so pissed at me too – she says hi by the way – and my dad is struggling through a PR nightmare.”

“Tony.” Steve tried to interrupt but Tony barreled right on.

“She absolutely adores you too so when I tell her that this is all a drunken joke, she’s going to be so upset. If we were actually getting married, I would be completely fucked because she would definitely side with you in the divorce.”

“TONY.” Steve grabbed Tony’s hands that had been waving around for emphasis. Tony shut up and stared at Steve. Steve took a deep breath. “Do you mean that you didn’t tell your mom we aren’t actually engaged even though this is, as you said, ‘a PR nightmare’?” Tony stilled and looked away from Steve. “Tony, you need to tell her.”

“Yes I know and I will! She was just…so happy even with the nightmare and you were looking freaked out so…” Tony trailed off. Steve picked up Tony’s phone from where he had dropped it on the coffee table and held it out to Tony.

“Call her.” He said sternly. Tony glared at Steve, hurt flashing in his eyes, and hissed, “Fine. I’m sorry that everyone thinking we are engaged is so horrible a thought to you. For the record, I don’t even remember doing it but I am sorry that I put you through this.” He made a move as though to stand up and Steve grabbed his arm.

“Wait, that’s not what I meant.”

“Oh, then what did you mean, Rogers? Because it sure seems like all you want is to be rid of any inkling that you are in any way attached to me.”

“You are twisting my words and you know that’s what you’re doing.” Tony wrenched his arm out of Steve’s grasp and poked a finger in his face.

“Oh really? Then enlighten me, Steve. Tell me why it is so important that I call my mother this instant and tell the whole damn world that there is nothing between us!”

“I don’t want to lead your mother on, Tony!” Steve pushed Tony’s finger out of his face and scowled.

“Don’t give me that look; It’s not like I did this on purpose.” Tony scoffed.

“I’m well aware that this was completely and totally a fluke, Tony.” Steve said, bitterly, turning away. Tony put a hand on Steve’s shoulder and wrenched him back around.

“What’s going on, Steve?” Tony’s voice was gentler but his gaze was searching. Steve always felt exposed when Tony looked at him with such focus, like all his secrets, desires, needs, fears were laid bare in the face of that scrutiny. He sighed, avoiding Tony’s eyes.

“Nothing. We all have a hangover and I’m tired.”

“Don’t try to bullshit me. I know you better than that.” Tony scooted closer. “Tell me.”

“No.”

“Tell me.”

“No, Tony.”

“The more you say no, the more I know there’s an issue. Just tell me.”

“NO.”

“This would be easier if you would tell me.”

“Stop poking me, Tony! NO!”

“TELL.ME.”

“I LIKE BEING ENGAGED TO YOU TOO MUCH.” Steve exclaimed. Tony froze, finger still mid-air, poised for another poke attack.

“But you don’t even like me like that?” He said cautiously. Steve threw up his hands, completely exasperated.

“I spend the majority of my time around you, we buy each other dinners, I’ve slept over at your apartment how many times now? At least as many as you have spent at mine When was the last time I dated someone? You know everything there is to know about me. You know my social security number! People at your campus just assume I am your boyfriend when I come to take you to lunch, Tony. I have a picture of you IN MY WALLET. I am completely in love with you, goddammit!” Tony remained still for the entirety of Steve’s rant, looking at his hands. When Steve finished, he looked up warily and a small smile was on his face.

“You have a picture of me in your wallet?” Steve stared at him in disbelief.

“That’s what you got out of all of that?” Tony shrugged and the smile grew a little bit wider.

“You know my mom has been asking me for months when I’m going to finally ask you on a date.” He said, quietly. “I kept telling her ‘soon’ but I could never get up the courage.” Steve’s breath caught.

“You mean…” He couldn’t quite say it.

“Yeah.” Tony finally met his eyes, his own dancing with joy. “I love you too, Steve.” A completely joyful laugh bubbled out of Steve’s throat and he pulled Tony onto his lap. His heart was beating too fast and he didn’t know how to express the multitude of emotions he was feeling so he kissed Tony softly. It just a closed mouth brush of the lips but it made his heart sing.

Tony pulled away and wrinkled up his nose. “We stink. Bruce’s glop can cure a lot but it can’t cure the fact that we smell like a bar.” Steve chuckled and rested his head in the crook of Tony’s neck, just reveling in the fact that he could do that now. There was a moment of peaceful silence and then,

“So does this mean I don’t have to tell my mom we aren’t engaged?” Tony asked, carding his fingers through Steve’s hair. Steve snickered, drew his head from where it rested against Tony’s neck, and pressed his lips against Tony’s again.

“How about a date first?”


End file.
